Insulated joint for railway-rail joints.



No. 731,016. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1903.

. B. GQBRAINE. I

INSULATED JOINT FOR RAILWAY RAIL JOINTS.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 22, 1900. no MODEL.

JZ 9 J 6/ 9 J WITNESSES: INVENTORQ ATTORNEYS.

To (6 whom, it may concern:

UNITED STATES d Patented June 16, 1903.

PATE T OFFICE.

BANCROFT e. BRAINE, OF NEW YORK, r, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINUOUS RAIL JOINT 00. OF AMERICA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

INSULATED JOINIT'FOIR' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters TRAIL'WAY-RAIL JOINTS.

Patent No. 731,016, dated June 16, 1903.

Application filed 0ctober 22, 1900- Serial No. 33,812. (No model.

Be it known that I, BANOROFT G. BRAINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulated Joints for Railway-Rail Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de-' scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertai 11s to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in that class of insulated rail-joints described in Patent No. 582,907, dated May- 18, 1897, the objects of the present improvements being to facilitate and reduce the cost of manufacturing the insulating plate or plates and to secure a more perfect insulation of the rails and to secure other advantages and re sults, some of which may be referred to here-. inafter in connection with the description of the working-parts.

The invention consists in the improved insulated railway-rail joint and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure l is a transverse section showing the parts comprisingthe improved joint, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

111 said drawings, a a, indicate the joined rails, and Z) Z) the metallic fish-plates employed for joining the adjacent ends of two rails, the fish -plates being disposed on opposite sides of said rails and bolted by bolts b to said rails and to one another in any usual manner. The said fish-plates Z) Z) are each provided with a vertical portion 0, having at its upper and lower edges, respectively, inclined bearings d 6, adapted to approximate in inclination the inclination of the inclined bearings f g beneath the head it of the rail and on the top of the flange i thereof, and at the lower edge of said vertical portion of each of i said fish-plates is integrallyformed aV-shaped or approximately V- shaped extension 7 to receive the flange of the rail.

Between the several bearings of the fishplates and rails are arranged plates is is Z, which are non-conductors of electricity, said plates being interposed between the fishplates and rails in the manner indicated in the drawings.

In the prior patent above referred to two insulating-plates are shown which extend from the bearings f d at the top of the vertical portions of the fish-plates downward into the hollow chamber j, formed in the hollow V-shaped extensions, said plates extending continuously around the outer edges of the flange 2' and beneath the same and terminating at the lower edgesj? of the V- shaped extensions j short of the central vertical axis of the rail. This construction of insulatingplates was not only difficult to make into the desired shape, but also formed an opening at thebottom of the rail, permitting the latter to come into electrical contact with the ground and-occasion a leakage of electrical power.

In my improved construction the nsulating-plates in each joint are in three sections, the sections 76 k lying between the vertical parts of the fish-plates and the bearings f g and extending into the chambers j, formed in the V-shaped extensions, terminating at the outer extremities m of said chambers at the small angle in said V-shaped parts and the section Z extending from said outer or smaller extremities m of said chambers, where its edges lap the lower edges of the plates /c across the Opening between the inner edges of the lower part 7 of the V -shaped extensions. The bottom flange 1' of the rails is thus seated upon the insulating-plate Z, and the opposite edges of said plate Zare preferably turned upward a little, as at n n, to effecta proper lapping, and so that should the rail-flange and V-shaped parts come to lie nearer together by wear or improper fitting of parts than intended there will be no contact of metal, but there will be a proper insulation at the extremities m of the chambers.

The abutting ends of the rails are insulated by anon-conductive plate 19, Fig. 2, which said plate p is preferably shaped in conformity to the shape of the rail in cross-section, and the bolts 1) are likewise insulated by non-conductive sleeves or collars q, Fig. 1, in any usual manner.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new is- 1. In a rail-joint, the combination with adjacent rail ends and fish-plates each comprising an upright portion having at its up perand lower edges inclined bearings adapted to be wedged between the head and base flange of the rails and a doubled portion inclosing the base-flange of the rails, of opposite insulatin g-plates each extending over the said bear in gs of a fish-plate between it and the rail, and terminating at the lower edge at the inner closed end of the recess of said doubled portion of the fish-plate, and a third insulatingplate lying between the base of the rails and the fish-plates and terminating at its opposite lateral edges also at the inner closed end of the recesses of the doubled portions of said fish-plates.

2. In a rail-joint, the combination with adj acent rail ends and fish-plates each comprising an upright portion having at its upper and lower edges inclined bearings adapted to be wedged between the head and base flange of the rails and a doubled portion inclosing the base-flange of the rails, of opposite insulating-plates each extending over the said bearings of a fish-plate between it and the rail, and terminating at the lower edge at the inner closed end of the recess of said doubled portion of the fish-plate, and a third insulatingplate lying between the base of the rails and the fish-plates and terminating at its opposite lateral edges also at the inner closed end of the recesses of the doubled portions of said fish-plates, the edges of two insulating-plates thus inclosed at the inner end of the recess of a doubled portion of a fish-plate extendin g beyond the edge of the inclosed rail base-flange and being curved or bent toward eachother over said edge of the base-flange.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of October, 1900.

BANOROFT G. BRAINE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, F. I. FEAREY. 

